okay, new orleans just got through what could be called an environmental fender-bender, what with tropical storm cindy rumbling through over the 5th/6th. some stuff was torn up, some flooding, downed trees and powerlines. basically, no one likes a storm, but new orleans and the region has managed plenty worse in the past, and the cleanup is progressing in earnest.

but i will tell you, if hurricane dennis lands here, the city will come to a crushing halt, not by virtue of physical damage, flooding and the like, but by the IDIOT DRIVERS THAT CANNOT COMPREHEND THE RULE OF A 4-WAY STOP AT A DEAD STOPLIGHT.

i dutifully stop at every darned dead light (there are fewer today than yesterday, but there are still a couple), even if i feel like the biggest goober because it looks like no one's coming. but i KNOW what the rules are, and it would only take some other idiot deciding the coast LOOKS clear and flying through the crossstreet at the same time as me to get t-boned like i won't soon forget.

so seriously, if you come to a dead intersection stoplight, it does NOT mean "hey, that must mean fly on through if it looks clear!"

this has been a Public Service Announcement from a guy who's getting tired of being honked at, cursed, and nigh-rear-ended at every other light.

When you're lovers in a dangerous time,You're made to feel as if your love's a crime.Nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight.Gotta kick at the darkness 'til it bleeds daylight.

Strangely, here in the Bay Area where the rule on running red lights seems to be "if I believe I can pass through the intersection without being hit then it's OK to floor it", people are really really good about the "dead stop light means 4 way stop" thing.

I have no idea why. Maybe we're all practicing for the Big One.

They spoke of the sayings and doings of their commander, the grand duke, and told stories of his kindness and irascibility.